Valley of Sleep

Contents

Wahad Elaamad

The domain of the lunar deity Anhurish is his namesake Anhur, the very moon of Thal. Upon the moon, his realm of the dead is known as Wahad Elaamad, the Valley of Sleep. It is what has been salvaged from the massive lunar crater caused by the impact of Anhurish's iron prison when he was exiled to the moon by his cruel father Shamharish. Among its other names are Drudahlon (the Dreamland), Anhurat Shahlat (the Lunar Paradise), Annu Sawanah (the Sky Savannah), Wahad Lalaztarad (the Valley of Ghosts), and Wahad Lohashiyad (the Valley of Snakes).

Unlike the barren surface of the rest of the moon, the Valley of Sleep cradles a lush savannah of pale Moongrass, which can be seen from the world below as a very faint dark spot on the moon. There are cobbled pathways, bridges, palisades, gazebos, towers and other buildings scattered throughout the valley. These architectural embellishments, hewn of fine white marble, serve only to compliment the natural features of the lunar landscape, contributing to the idyllic scenery of this starlit afterlife. The magic of the Dreaming God is such that, within the confines of the valley at least, air is plentiful and gravity behaves the way it would on the world below.

The Sleepwalkers

The permanent inhabitants of the valley are the Elaami Azif or Sleepwalkers. These luminious spectres are Lalaztar created by Anhurish from the life-energies of mortals who died within the influence of the Dreaming God. The Sleepwalkers roam through the Valley of Sleep in a state of blissful dream-reverie, with little in the way of memories from their lives on Thal.

The Waters of Sleep

The valley is crisscrossed by a network of babbling streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, artificial canals and pools. Collectively, they are called the Waters of Sleep (Sannui Elaamiyad) in whose dark, trickling surfaces one may glimpse the thoughts and dreams of slumbering mortals, rising up in wisps and coils of otherworldly smoke from the water’s surface. In the calmer pools, luminous white fish swim, resembling comets traversing the lonely gulf of space. To partake of the waters, however enchanting they may seem, is to invite madness into one’s mind. Only the Sleepwalkers may safely drink from the Waters of Sleep.

The House of the Moon

At the centre of the Valley of Sleep stands Nyn Anhurad, the House of the Moon. It is a wondrous palace of silver and marble, home to the Dreaming God himself and his divine court. The Elaami Azif are permitted to roam the (largely empty) corridors of the lunar palace, and the Waters of Sleep run through its canals and waterways, nourishing the many lush gardens found within.